In Afghanistan, US Troops Begin to Withdraw

The first of them left this week
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2011 6:16 PM CDT
In Aftghanistan, US Troops Begin to Withdraw
A US soldier with Task Force Red Horse carries his baggage to the customs office to be checked, as he leaves Afghanistan at the US base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on July 14, 2011.   (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

President Obama's troop drawdown has begun: About 650 troops left after their rotations ended Wednesday, and they will not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first US troops have left Afghanistan," says a military spokesperson. About a third of the 100,000 US forces in the country will leave during the next year under Obama's plan, with the first 10,000 scheduled to come home by the end of this year, Reuters reports. (More draw down stories.)

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